Finding love can be difficult at the best of times - especially finding a significant other that you know will live happily with for the rest of your life.
One woman has found her perfect life partner - and decided to marry herself.
Dorothy Fideli, 77, who goes by 'Dottie', accomplished her dream of 'happy ever after' as she married herself in a wedding ceremony held at her senior living home in Ohio on May 13.
Dottie looked radiant in a white dress and veil as she carried a bouquet of white and red roses before walking down the aisle by herself.
Revealing why she made the unusual decision to marry herself, Dottie told WLWT: "This is something I’ve always wanted.
"I wanted to get married and have a happy life but things didn’t work out that way and now I have a second chance in doing something that’ll make me happy."
Dottie, who is a mother of three, was previously married in a quick courthouse ceremony in 1965, after which she went home and her husband went to work. The couple ended up divorcing nine years later.
The bride revealed: "I wore a black dress, so I was doomed before I got started."
Dottie got the idea to marry herself after seeing a woman do the same on a talk show and believed the ceremony would bring some joy to the other residents at the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Home in Goshen, Ohio.
She joked: "I do some crazy things around here just to make people laugh. When I see them all down in the dumps, I go get one of my outfits on and dress up and come down, and they smile."
Dottie planned her big day herself, including all the decorations and catering and got the retirement home property manager Rob Geiger to be her officiant.
"I came in here and I told Rob, I said, 'Rob, you’re going to marry me,'" Dotty told Today. "He said, 'You’re what?'"
He was supportive of being part of Dottie's big day after she explained her plan to him, and Dottie's daughter Donna Pennington also helped her pull off the perfect wedding by buying her wedding dress, getting flowers, and cooking for the attendees.
On the day, the home's community room was decorated with a balloon arch and guests were treated to a two-tiered white wedding cake, as well as heart-shaped cookies and sandwiches in the shape of wedding bells.
Despite knowing her significant other pretty well, Dottie admitted she had wedding day jitters, adding: "I was nervous, but then I was really happy."
Revealing why she decided to go down the aisle solo in her 70s, Dottie explained to WLWT: "Love is the most important thing in this world, and if you love God and love yourself, this world will be a field of roses."
Dottie's journey to self-love has also involved investing time in herself, as she daughter herself to read at the age of 75 and is spending time with her family as she awaits her first great-grandchild.
She told her daughter: "This is the best thing that I’ve ever had, outside of having you kids. This is what I’ve always wanted and I’m so happy that you [gave] it to me."
Featured image credit: Andrew Mayes / Alamy
